"Well, since we spent time last night setting this as our fall back spot, we will need to discuss what we plan to do. What do we want our approach to be? I do not know the best way to go about entering the palace as I have never been there before. Fugen, Takeshi....any suggestions based on the information we have?"

__________________Je porte mon fromage dans mon slip.

---It's practically impossible to look at a penguin and feel angry.---

"Well, we know from the hawk that there are guards at the Palace during the day. We also know from last night that the spirits appear near dusk and descend the mountain, returning near dawn. It seems to me that our best chance of entering the palace undetected may be between dusk and dawn."

Nodding his agreement to Takeshi, Fugen signs, however, that he doesn't like the idea of wasting a day just to enter when the guards are supposedly sleeping. He suggests that it might be a worthwhile idea to try and bait some of the guards, in particluar a sphinx or two, into giving chase and seperating them from the bulk at the palace so that they can be dispatched independantly. Essentially duplicating the success that the group had with the White Dragon in the battle for Merak Hoi.

__________________
Physics is like sex. Sometimes it yields practical results, but that's not why we do it.
-Richard Feynman

"Bad idea. Sorry Fugen, but it won't work this time. Our greatest advantage is the fact that our enemies don't know about us. If some of the guards mysteriously go vanishing, it will put them on alert. We need a way to sneak in, unless you expect that we can fight our way in with brute force?"

Fugen frowns at that objection, but is forced to agree, to some extent. Signing, he indicates his doubts that the group is going to be able to perform the totality of their mission in secret, so what it really comes down to is when they are discovered and how. Personally, Fugen would prefer to dictate the circumstances of that eventuality rather than having to react to them, but it would be a waste to make their presense known right from the begining.

What they really needed was some idea of where the day time guards slept during the night. If they knew that then they might be able to kill them in their sleep. Unfortunately, their prisoner's information hadn't been that specific to the best of Fugen's memory.

__________________
Physics is like sex. Sometimes it yields practical results, but that's not why we do it.
-Richard Feynman

"No good, yet again. Pushing aside the thought that they might be ready for it, unless you can create a lot of clouds at the exact same time, it wouldn't be particularly useful. Further, they could just call for reinforcements. If you want to take out the guards, sneaking up on each of them individually and then killing them before they cry for help is the best way. I know you all will likely have something against it, but it is, I repeat, is, the best way."

As the heroes continue to plan, they hear the distant clop of horseshoes on the paved road. They peek out of the cathedral to see a group of about a dozen mounted men arriving from the direction of the palace. They stop at the far side of the cathedral plaza, where the road is surrounded by shops and villas.

Some of them wear the same uniform as the mercenaries that the heroes fought at the temple of stone. Others are dressed in light armor and look like militiamen. One of them wears the robes of a scholar. It is difficult to discern details at this distance.

Several of the militiamen dismount and begin opening the doors of the shops and villas to search within. A winged shadow crosses the plaza. Some flying creature is orbiting high above the mounted group.

Damn. Should have picked up a spyglass back in Ichiba, Fugen thinks as he is unable to pick out the details of the scholarly figure, and whether or not it might be Bon Quo.

Takeshi's comments, however, bring another thought to mind and he quickly signs to let the others know that they may not have been discovered yet. Their prisoner had indicated that Bon Quo was searching for a scroll with which to unhallow the Divine Chapel in the palace. Perhaps this was simply an extension of that search, and a coincidence that these men were here now.

Of course that didn't change the fact that the search the men were conducting might lead them into the cathedral or across some other sign that the party had inadvertantly left in the square.

Signing again, Fugen suggests that they might try to split up the searchers and take them out a small group at a time if they can.

__________________
Physics is like sex. Sometimes it yields practical results, but that's not why we do it.
-Richard Feynman

Nimdor sees that the shadow is cast by a large creature with the body of a lion and the head and wings of a bird. Nimdor is familiar with griffons and this is not one of them. It must be one of the heiracosphinxes that the prisoner told them about.

After quickly searching the buildings along the road, the searchers turn their attention towards the cathedral. The robed figure remains back at the road along with the leader of the soldiers and the heirosphix. The leader directs the others to approach the cathedral. The armed men all dismount, and use their horses for cover. They spread far apart as they begin to cross the plaza towards the cathedral.

With the men now approaching the cathedral, it is obvious that the party is not going to be able to slip out in an effort to isolate and destroy parts of the unit. Indeed, they appear to have only two options now, rush out and confront everyone at once, or try and draw them inside the cathedral. Either option would be troublesome, but Fugen is less inclined to try and take the fight out of the cathedral where they would be exposed to all their attackers at once.

Signing, Fugen sugests the others to fall back into the cathedral while he stays in the center as bait and Flarggj stays near the door, ready to drop their barrier in an effort to cut off reinforcements from the outside should some of the men enter the cathedral.

__________________
Physics is like sex. Sometimes it yields practical results, but that's not why we do it.
-Richard Feynman

"No fighting, we hide. At least pick a room deep inside to barricade ourselves in if we have to. They have at least one heiracosphinx, I'm not eager to fight them at all. Besides, we have the protection spells to aid us, right?"

I don't think that we have that option, Fugen thinks in response to Nimdor's expressed opinion, this looks far to well coordinated to me for them not to be prepared to enter, or otherwise deal with, the cathedral's protections.

Still, Nimdor's plans aren't all that different from Fugen's own (the only real difference being that Fugen won't be in plain sight as a tempting target should these men try to enter the cathedral) so Fugen is willing to go along with the idea.

Signing to Gizerak, Fugen indicates a clear distaste for moving outside of the cathedral unless they absolutely have to. Entering the square would expose the group to fire from all the archers and attacks from too many directions at once, even with their backs to the cathedral. Plus, it would allow the heiracosphinx to fight on the wing, giving it a huge advantage.

__________________
Physics is like sex. Sometimes it yields practical results, but that's not why we do it.
-Richard Feynman

The enemy patrol continues to draw near as the heroes are deadlocked in their discussion of what to do. Once the patrol approaches within about forty feet of the main cathedral doorway, one of them gives an alarm. “I see some people inside, looking out through the doorway!”

“Keep advancing. I need to make sure it is them!” replies the robed man. He is now close enough that the heroes can see it is a young man. None of the heroes recognize him, except for Termix.

Termix knows him well. This is Hangyakunin Aikou, once his fellow apprentice of Mikon the Evoker. In their investigation of the ruins of Mikon’s tower, the heroes found clues indicating that Mikon and his tower were destroyed by Hangyakunin’s treachery. He sabotaged Mikon’s magic circle, so that the powerful elementals summoned by Mikon could not be contained.

“We can’t go in there, right?” asks another of the mercenaries. “It has a forbiddance!”

Actually sort of glad that they have been spotted, as it means that they will indeed deal with these mercenaries, Fugen is nevertheless concerned that the robed individual seems to be looking for some one (or group of some ones) specific. If all he wants to do is confirm who they are, then he might have some trick up his sleeve for once their identity is confirmed.

Motioning to Termix, Fugen points at the group clustered around the robed figure, and makes a rapid expanding gesture with his two hands, trying to mimic the action of the fire spell he had used on the spy back in Merak Hoi.

__________________
Physics is like sex. Sometimes it yields practical results, but that's not why we do it.
-Richard Feynman